Intermediate support for awning-rollers and the like.



J. H. SHANNON. INTERMEDIATE SUPPORT FDR AWNING ROLLERS AND THE LIKE.

Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

APlLIOATIOH FILED 311.31, 1908.

.li'iiZ ZfTl/DTV U 61? (151 17/262)? N 0/1/ UNITED STATES PATENT cur os.

JAMES H. CHA DION, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

Application filed January 31, E908. Serial No. 413,528.

Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois,

have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Intermediate Supports for Awning-Rollers and the Like, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains tolnake and use the same,-reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

.My invention relates to devices for supporting rotating shafts such as awning rollers and the like at points between the ends thereof and has-for its object to provide a device of this character which shall besimple in construction, which may be quickly and conveniently adjusted so as to adapt it to rollers of different diameters, and which may be conveniently secured in position and brought into alinement with the remaining supports and bearings. The various features of novelty which characterize my invention will be hereinafter pointed out with particularity in theclaims but fora full understanding of my invention in its various aspects reference may be had to the following detailed de- Scription taken in connection with the accornpanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a device arranged in accordance with a preferred form of my invention, the supported roller being shown in dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the device the supporting rolls being omittedpand Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 33 of Fig. l, the roller being shown in'full lines.

Referring to the drawing, A is a plate or bracket having a pair of arms B, B, projectinglaterally therefrom near the lower end thereof. Between these arms are journaled rolls C and C respectively, these rolls being arranged with their axes parallel to each other and parallel to the plane of the bracket. The distance between the rolls is made such that the smallest roller which is to be supported by the device will be held free from the arms B by means of the rolls. D indicates a usual form of awning roller upon which is wound the fabric d.

Since the rolleris supported from beneath some means mustibe provlded for prevent ing it from being pulled laterally from its support and it is therefore customary to provide a third roll E, generally supported by means of a separate'bracket, so that it may be brought into engagement with the roller or the fabric carried thereby, at a pointabove the roll C. passes between the-rolls C and E so that any tendency to pull the roller laterally when the fabric is drawn upon or due to the weight of the fabric and the pole or other device whereby it is held taut, is resisted by the rolls C and E.

The adjustability of the device so as to adapt itfor use in connection with different sized rollers is affected by shifting the roll 1*) and, in one of its aspects. the present i.u

The fabric vention maybe regarded as comprising a novel arrangementfor supporting this auxiliary roll. To this end the bracket A made elongated and is provided with a slot 1: which is preferably arranged at rightangles to the axes of the rolls. The roll E is journaled within a aw F which is adapted to be secured to the bracket by means of a bolt G which passes through the slot in the bracket'and the jaw. The slot is preferably counter-sunk on the rear of the bracket as at a so as to afford a socket for receiving the head of the bolt, thereby avoiding obstructions on the rear face of the bracketand permitting the bracket to be brought into intimate contact throughout its entire extent with a plane surface. A portion of the shank of the bolt at as g is preferably squared so as to prevent the rotation of the bolt within the slot, thereby permittin the nut g to be readily screwed and unscrewed. The member- F is preferably provided with rearwardly'projecting flanges f and f" which are spaced apart just far enough to receive the bracket betweenthem so that when the jaw is bolted to the bracket the flanges engage with the side edges thereof and securely hold the jaw against rotation and maintain the roll E in parallelism with the other rolls. It will be seen that when a roller is to be removed or inserted within the bearing it is only necessary to loosen the nut whereupon the aw and its roll may be lifted sufficiently to permit the roller to be re moved or inserted laterally. After a. roller has been placed in position the jaw is moved along the bracket until the roll carried by the jaw comes into the proper relation with respect to the roller and the jaw may then be rigidly secured in the manner described.

workman to drill holes into the wall or support for securing the jaw after the bracket itself has been placed in position. It will further be seen that the bracket and the jaw may be ordinary castings which require no finishing, so that the whole device is-cheap as well as efficient.

The bracket may be secured in place by means of bolts passing through openings (1, and a" near the top and bottom thereof or it may be held by a single bolt such as indicated in dotted lines at H, this bolt passing tln'ough'the slotc above or below the point at which the aw is secured. The slot a 1s orefeiabl" made lon er than would be necessary to merely provide for adjusting the jaw, in order that space may at alltimes be left for receiving a bolt for securing the bracket in place. It will be seen that by making use of the elongated slot for receiving a fastenmg belt for the bracket, 1t 1s possible to secure the device in ptace temporarily and then, after the end' supports for the rolle'rshave been established, shift the bracket up or down, after loosening the bolt H, until the device is brought into alinement with the end hearings or supports.-

This feature is of considerable importance since awning rollers have to be placed in po-' sition on walls made of all sorts of materials and in all coifditions of repair, and walls which are frequently considerably distorted. It is very difficult therefore to aline all of the bearings and supports by simply measur ing from some given line upon the walls and it has heretofore been necessary very frequently totake down bearings after they were thought to be in alinement and drill a new set of holes in the wall so as to obtain actual alinement. WVith the present device, however, considerable latitude of adjustment is permitted even after the device has been placed in position so that, if the error in alinement be not too great, the error may be corrected by simply loosening the bolt H and shifting the intermediate device until it is in alinement with the remaining supports or bearings. Where a number of 'intermediate supports are employed the advantage of this adjustment is of course even greater than where there is but a single'intermediate support. It often happens that the device must be placed in such a position that nobolt can be passed through the open-. ings a and a and in such case the elongated slot affords .a bolt-opening without making it necessary for the workman to drill a new hole.

of the bracket, means rolls,

Nhile I have illustrated and described in detail a preferred form of my invention do not desire to be limited to the particular features of construction thus illustrated and described, since in its broader aspects my invention may takevario'us other forms as will be evident from the definitions constituting the appended claims.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as'new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A device of the character described con'iprising abracket having a laterally projecting arm near one end and an elongated slot extending in a direction transverse to said arm, said slot being counter-sunk on the. back of the bracket, a pair of revoluble supporting devices carried by said arm, a guide above said device, and means including a bolt passing through said slot and having its head lying in the counter-sunk portion thereof for adjustably securing said guide to the bracket, said elongated slot being greater in length than the depth of sand jaw measured in the direction of the length of the slot.

2. A device ofthe character described comprising a bracket having a pair of arms projecting laterally therefrom near one end thereof, a pair of parallel rolls journaled 1n said arms, said bracket having an elongated slot extending transversely to, said rolls, saidslot being counter-sunk on the back of the bracket, a jaw having a face for engaging with the front of the bracket and shoulders arranged to engage with the side edges for adjustably securing saidjaw to the bracket including a bolt passing through said slot, and having its head arranged within the counter-sunk portion of the slot and a third roll revolubly supported by said jaw above and in'paralleli'sm with the other rolls.

3. A device of .the character described comprising 'a bracket having a pair of arms projecting laterally therefrom near oneend thereof, a pair of parallel rolls journaled in said arms, said'bracket having an elongated slot extending transversely, to said rolls, a third roll, a jaw forsupporting sald latter roll above and 'n parallelism with the other through said slot for adjustably supportin said jaw upon said. bracket, said elongate slot being greater in length than the depth of said jaw measured in the direction of the length of the slot.

In. testimony whereof, I sign thls speclfication in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES H. cnannon.

Witnesses: 4

VVM. F. FUNDENREIOH, HARRY S. GAITHER.

and means including a device passing 

